17 Aug Pubic Hair Grooming–Related Injuries Surprisingly Common
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Department of Urology
University of California, San Francisco
General Hospital, San Francisco
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We study genitourinary trauma and reconstruction. This study was motivated from a previous study showing that Emergency Room visits due to grooming were increasing over the past nine year. We sought to better characterize who was at most risk for grooming injuries. We found that grooming is extremely common in both men and women and minor injuries occur in about 25% of groomers. Surprisingly, a little over one percent sought medical care due to their injury. Participants at most risk our those who remove all of their pubic hair frequently ( as opposed to those who just trim). We did not find any instruments that were necessarily putting participants at risk for injury.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: I think this study should highlight that grooming is a common practice and that injuries are occurring because of it. However, we do not recommend for or against grooming, and we believe this is a personal decision motivated by many psychosocial factors. Healthcare expenditures are being consumed because of this and we believe that injury prevention is key.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: The next steps to our research is to explore this relationship more in a prospective study. We are interested in particular how grooming is related to STI transmission.
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Last Updated on August 17, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD